Quarantine
by nyreelex
Summary: When Rhodes contracts a deadly disease while risking his life for a patient, his own fate hangs in the balance as the rest of the gang race to save his life.
1. Deadly Patient

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Chicago Med or any of the characters. Please review and comment, testing the waters with this one. Not many Chicago Med fics out there.**

"Incoming!" yelled Maggie from the nursing station of the bustling ER, "Allison Grace. 25 year old female collapsed in a local cafe, respiratory distress, and unable to find an MOI!"

The young woman lying on the rushing gurney was unconscious and a intubation tube was in her throat, breathing air into her lungs.

"I've got this one!" a tall, dark haired, blue eyed doctor rushed after the gurney into the trauma room.

Choi showed up moments later at the nurses station, asking, "Which room?"

"Trauma 3," Maggie responded, "Connor just went in there but they can always use an extra hand."

Dr. Choi ran into the room without another word. Maggie sighed, April stating, "Long day, huh?"

"I have the graveyard shift tonight too, there goes Thursday nights at Molly's," Maggie groaned.

"Awww sweetie," April laughed and comforted her friend, "I'll sneak in a funnel cake from Loretta's."

"Who's getting Loretta's?" questioned Natalie as she walked up to the station, "those funnel cakes make mommies and babies extremely happy."

April was about to respond when Choi called from the trauma room, "Hey! We need a little help here!"

April, Maggie, and Natalie all dropped the conversation at once, Dr. Manning and April rushing to the scene.

Connor and Choi were hunched over the young woman, hands on and focused. Nurses milled about in all directions, Dr. Rhodes ordering meds or giving instruction every few seconds.

Choi explained when the two hurried in, "Her oxygen is way too low, she couldn't have been fine when she was in that cafe. And she's been seizing throughout treatment."

As if on cue, the woman's body began to shake uncontrollably on the table, doctors and nurses all rushing to roll her to her side.

"She's seizing!" Rhodes exclaimed over the commotion just as the heart monitor went flat, "Paddles charged to 250! Now!"

Already charged, Rhodes yelled, "Clear!" and began shocking the patient.

Her body convulsed and he barked, "300!" when there was no restored heart rhythm.

Once again, electricity raced through the patient and the heart monitor erupted into squiggly lines.

"We got a pulse," April declared, "She's back."

Natalie and Choi rolled the patient back and began to work to stabilize the young woman.

"Her temp's through the roof," Natalie stated, puzzled.

"These breath sounds seem nothing more than the common flu," said Choi while checking her lungs.

Suddenly, Connor said in a stern voice, raising his gloves, "Everybody, step back from the patient."

"What?" Natalie asked, quizzically.

"Everyone! Hands off now!" he yelled.

All the doctors took a step back, confused expressions on their face.

"Pen," Connor ordered a nurse.

She obeyed and he raised the patient's shirt, not touching the girl directly, revealing the pale white skin above her hip.

Tiny red dots were just visible, spotting the patient's ghostly white skin. Rhodes' expression darkened and he let the her shirt go. One thought passed through all the medical staff's minds. The difficulty breathing, the sweatiness of the skin, the red rashes. These were symptoms of viral diseases.

All the occupants in the room immediately backed up 5 feet away from the patient, too shocked and scared to say anything.

Everyone looked at Rhodes, waiting for his orders on how to act fast, and they had to act fast.

Connor's grim voice sounded, "April close the door; everyone put on a face mask and stay as far back from the patient as you can. We haven't been in contact with Ms. Grace for long so we most likely haven't been affected."

"We need to narrow down the disease and stabilize the patient" Choi stated.

"You're right," Connor agreed, "Natalie grab me a spinal tap kit and April get a blood sample. We got to figure the type of disease before it spreads."

….


	2. CDC Steps In

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Chicago Med or any of the characters. Alright, this chapter is pretty much setting up for the next one (which is where it's really going to start). Please review and hope you all like!**

Choi and Natalie had worked on re-stabilizing the patient, succeeding in bringing down her temperature a few degrees, yet not where they would've liked her to be. Once Rhodes had completed the spinal tap and the blood cultures were back, the team of doctors and nurses all gathered as they looked at their results, the tests and symptoms added up: Meningitis.

Everyone in the trauma bay was silent, a case of viral meningitis was more than rare. All of them could've been infected depending on the stage of the disease.

"Rhodes," April quietly spoke, "What do we do?"

Rhodes responded, with a grim look on his face, "Dial Sharon. Tell her we've got a code green, and to get a hold of the CDC."

…

Within minutes, the ER was cleared and only necessary staff were waiting in the hallway outside. Maggie sifted nervously through any information she could find about Meningitis and it's cures while Sharon tersely spoke on the phone with a hospital board member. Men with hazmat suits came rushing in, isolating all of the doctors and nurses in the room with Allison Grace. She was wheeled to an isolation chamber, still unconscious, and test were being done to determine how far along the disease was.

They medical staff that were treating Allison Grace were to sit in decontamination, none of them knew for how long. They were waiting to see if any of them showed any symptoms, yet none of them had been in the vicinity long enough for the virus to transmit.

"Are you still feeling okay?" Choi asked Natalie for the fourth time, she was under extra observation because of her condition.

"Yes, Ethan," she comforted her friend's worries, "I'm still having the chocolate donut cravings and my bladder feels like it's going to explode, so I'm feeling great."

She tried to joke, yet inwardly she was a mess. Her mind kept wandering to the baby in her tummy, 1 month till the due date, and if anything were to happen to him.

April paced the room, trying to recall all the different treatments of viral meningitis she had learned over the years. They had never gotten a case at any hospital she had worked at, none of them had.

Ethan spoke up, "What about the cafe and ambulance they brought her in? They could be infected, whatever she touched or wherever she went could be exposed."

Rhodes responded, head in his hands and eyes still closed, "I talked with a CDC member, the ambulance was on it's last shift and it's being inspected, so are the paramedics. The coffee shop they picked her up at is under quarantine too, they closed it down and are investigating the whole building like it's a crime scene."

"I wonder how she even got infected," Natalie wondered, "I mean this disease isn't easy to contract."

April just shook her head.

"How long has it been?" Choi asked.

"2 hours, 31 minutes, and 11 seconds," Rhodes answered immediately, "but whose counting."

….

Halstead sprinted down the corridors when he heard the news. He pushed through throngs of patients and doctors until he made it outside the ER doors, CDC officers in hazmat suits blocked the entrance.

"Look, I need to go in there," Will explained to one of the officers, frantically, "My colleagues are in there, they need my help-"

"I'm sorry, sir," the officer cut in curtly, "but no one is allowed to go through those doors."

"You have no right to tell me that, I'm an ER doctor and this is an emergency situation-"

"Dr. Halstead!" shouted a voice behind him.

He quickly turned around to see Mrs. Goodwin standing in front of the mass of patients and doctors standing outside the ED. A sigh of relief escaped his lips before turning around to give the officer one last glare. He rushed towards her, asking, "Where are they? Where's Natalie?"

"Dr. Manning, along with the other ED staff on the case, have been put in quarantine for the time being. None of them have showed any symptoms yet. They're unbelievably lucky, they weren't in with the patient long enough to have caught the virus it seems like."

"But what about Natalie?" Will questioned, distraught, "She's pregnant, and if anything were to happen to the baby-"

"Will," Mrs. Goodwin cut in, "she's fine for now. She hasn't shown any symptoms and as soon as the quarantine is over, we'll do tests to make sure everything is alright."

"Meningitis, Sharon?" Will sighed, "I mean, this isn't to joke around with if it spreads! Any news on how she contracted it?"

"Keep your voice down," Sharon whispered, not wanting to alarm any of the patients standing nearby, "they don't know yet, they're doing the tests now."

"Who? The CDC? Yeah, they're real charmers, maybe they should let real doctors do their work instead of playing around," he said, loud enough for the officers behind him to hear.

Maggie walked up to them at that moment, handing the phone to Mrs. Goodwin, "Hey, just got an update. Everyone is fine so far, no symptoms, and they're allowing some staff in protective gear to talk with them behind the glass."

"About damn time," Sharon mumbled, grabbing the phone and putting it to her ear as she walked away.

"Who was working on the case, anyway?" Halstead asked Maggie as they followed Mrs. Goodwin.

"A few nurses, Cathy, April, and Charlotte," Maggie confessed, "and Ethan, Natalie, and Rhodes."

At the mention of Rhodes, Will relaxed a little. Although he wasn't the most welcoming of the mix, Dr. Rhodes was a brilliant trauma doctor and he knew the rest were safe with him around.

"God bless that boy," Maggie mumbled to herself as they made their way to the quarantine section.

…..

A knock on the glass window snapped Rhodes from his thoughts as he saw Sharon, Dr. Charles, and few CDC officers standing in full protective gear. He instantly sat up as they all rushed to the glass wall.

"Sharon," Natalie breathed, relieved, "finally, a familiar face. Any news on when we're getting out of here?"

"Not yet, sweetie. But things are looking pretty good since none of you have gotten any symptoms yet," she answered, hopefully.

The expressions that followed were either despair, frustration, hope, or impatience. Everyone expressed their feelings except for Rhodes, his face a blank canvas.

"How's the patient?" Connor asked.

"She's been moved to isolation and her stats are low. Symptoms have progressed throughout the hour and her tests came back concluding the virus is getting worse. It wasn't strong enough to transmit however till recently, so the ambulance and cafe most likely aren't infected," Mrs. Goodwin grimly informed the eager ears of the doctors behind the glass.

"Have they found anymore rashes?" Choi pondered.

"Unfortunately, the disease has begun to spread rapidly. If it continues at this rate, she'll really be in danger in about a day or two. We're trying to treat it with antibiotics, but so far nothing's working," Sharon grimly responded.

"In the meantime," Dr. Charles spoke up in his soothing tone, "Sit back, relax, and we'll try to get you out of here as soon as possible."

"Don't suppose you can get a movie or something going on in here?" Rhodes asked from his seat on the wall, sarcasm clear in his voice due to his frustration at being locked up for a few hours.

Dr. Charles smiled, "I'll see what I can do."

The CDC officers led them out without another word, their visiting time was up.

"How long now, Rhodes?" Choi asked.

"4 hours, 56 minutes, and 28 seconds."

….

Maggie and Halstead rushed through the small makeshift hallway noisily, their hazmat suits loudly rubbing against each other in the small space. As soon as the rest of their friends were seen behind a huge glass wall, they ran the rest of the way to meet them, Will heading straight for Natalie on the far side of the glass.

"Natalie," Will breathed, "are you okay? They wouldn't let us in till now-"

"Will," she soothed, "We're all fine, trust me. Choi has got me under the radar too."

"Good, I was worried," Will sighed, "in the, uh, "good friend" type of way."

Will, unsuccessfully, tried to hid his passion for Natalie, yet everyone seemed to notice except for Manning. Choi rolled his eyes.

"Maggie, have they told you how much longer we'll be in here for?" April asked, desperately, "We've been here- what? 6 hours, Rhodes?"

"Almost 7," he responded from his seat on the wall.

"7 hours," April continued, "and none of us have developed any symptoms!"

"Seriously," Rhodes finally interjected, slightly annoyed, and stood up to walk and face Maggie behind the glass, "No one has told us anything so far and we're the ones who treated Allison Grace in the first place! It seems like a good idea if these guys got off their high horses and spread the wealth."

"Look, don't get nasty with me, sugar," Maggie retaliated, but knew she needed to be calm since they were all on edge, "It's almost midnight and all the other emergencies have been redirected to other ED's. The whole hospital is in lockdown, but I did hear some of the CDC officers talking and I'm almost sure you'll be out of observation by tomorrow morning."

"Great," Rhodes huffed, turning around and walking back to his seat on the wall.

"Well aren't you a ray of sunshine today," Halstead said, some of the fire coming back in his words.

The tempers behind the glass wall were steadily rising and the agitation was palpable, Rhodes ready with a stinging retort when the head member of the CDC walked in.

"Good evening, or shall I say night, to all of you," he began, "my name is Dr. Simon Muller and I understand that you were the medical team present when Ms. Allison Grace came in today."

Rhodes, silently appointed spokesperson, responded, "That is correct," in a stern, powerful voice.

"I'm going to ask you all to give me a step-by-step playback of the events and medical steps taken when Ms. Grace checked in. I must humbly ask for all your questions to be saved till the end and all unnecessary personnel please exit the room," Dr. Muller looked pointedly at Maggie and Will.

Saying their goodbyes, the two left, Halstead shooting an intense glare at Dr. Muller the entire way out, yet the CDC head didn't seem to notice.

"Now," Muller started, "Let's begin."

…..

6 hours and 27 minutes later, the 3 nurses and 3 doctors sat silently on the floor of the glass room, dejectedly. Natalie was lightly dozing on Choi's shoulder, while the other nurses slept on the far side of the room, they had kept to themselves throughout the hours.

"I really need to pee," said April to no one in particular.

Both Choi and Rhodes managed a smile, counting down the seconds till they were released.

"I'm going to Molly's first thing," Rhodes declared, "and getting more drunk than Maggie on Thursday nights."

April and Choi both laughed at that, picturing the stubborn and stern head nurse on her crazy Thursday nights.

"I cannot wait to shower," Choi remarked, "I smell like latex."

"I think that smell comes with the job," April giggled, "uh, how long has it been?"

"From the time you asked me 3 minutes ago... it has now been 11 hours and 42 minutes," Rhodes responded, sighing.

"Can't even tell if it's day or night in here," April remarked.

"I wonder if the girl is still alive," Choi stated.

"How _did_ she even get meningitis in the first place?" April questioned, "her history showed no recent travels and no possible way she could've gotten it."

"I don't think she'll make it through tomorrow if they don't do something quick," Rhodes said, grimly.

The trio sat in silence for a few seconds.

"How long has it been now?"

…..

"Congratulations," Dr. Muller said aloud, hours later, "you've made it to the end of the quarantine. We have successfully come to the conclusion none of you are carrying the disease and will dismiss you from inspection momentarily. Dr. Manning, if you would like to access the OB department and check on the well being of your baby, please inform us to give you special access since the hospital is still in lockdown. The patient, Allison Grace, continues to remain in isolation and on life support. You are all ordered to return home for the rest of the day and return to your duties when we have approved. Thank you."

And with that, a CDC member opened the door on the far wall of the glass room, leading the medical team through a makeshift tube and out into the hospital lobby.

Mrs. Goodwin, Dr. Charles, Halstead, Maggie, and even Sarah Reese greeted them upon their release.

"You're all more than welcome to go home for the day, the hospital is still in lockdown but this area was declared secure," Sharon informed them.

Choi and the two nurses said their goodbyes, Ethan hurrying home to take a shower. April and Maggie rushed to the bathroom while Halstead escorted Manning to the OB, worry clouding her mind.

That left Dr. Charles, Rhodes, and Mrs. Goodwin, Connor quickly getting to the point, "Where's Allison?"

"Connor, wouldn't you rather go home, take a nap, eat something-" Mrs. Goodwin started.

Rhodes intervened, "I wasted 16 hours in that quarantine, Sharon. Now, where's Allison? She'll die without proper medical attention."

"I'll take you there," Dr. Charles suggested, "She's in isolation 4, I've already been down to see her. She woke up a few hours ago."

Rhodes nodded and followed Dr. Charles to the elevator.

…..


	3. Exposed

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Chicago Med or any of the characters. Reviews welcomed!**

Allison Grace, skin covered in tiny red dots, lay on her bed, sweaty, feverish, and crying. Her stats were low and they set up an oxygen mask to help her breath, yet her shivering seemed to increase and heart rhythm was slow.

"She's all alone in there," Rhodes remarked, "she must be scared out of her mind."

"Only a limited number of CDC members are allowed in," Dr. Charles answered, "trust me, I tried."

"They're not doing anything," Rhodes said, looking at her chart, "they're leaving her isolated until this virus eats her up and leaves her dead. Its much easier to burn the body then waste the time, effort, and resources to try and help cure the disease."

"Maybe you should try talking to her," Dr. Charles recommended, "comfort her."

Rhodes hesitantly pressed the call button in front of him and his authoritative yet soothing voice sounded in the isolation room.

"Hi Allison, my name is Dr. Rhodes, and I was on your case when you were first brought in yesterday afternoon," Connor began, Allison looking up at the ceiling in confusion, "You collapsed at a cafe when the paramedics brought you in and your breathing was irregular. Can you tell me anything else you remember?"

Allison, still hysterical, spoke, her voice resonating in the booth outside, "I-I really don't even remember feeling that sick," she sobbed, "just a s-small headache, and I thought maybe a little sun and reading time at the cafe would help."

"No, good Allison. That's really good," Rhodes continued, gently, "Now did you notice any red dots or rashes that morning?"

"I was a l-little itchy," Allison confessed, crying, "but I thought it was nothing to worry about."

"Perfect, now when we brought you in you were unconscious and sporadically having seizures. You did go into cardiac arrest, but we managed to get you back and diagnose you," Dr. Rhodes explained, Dr. Charles surprised at his soft tone.

"My heart..stopped?" she sobbed.

"That's the very question were wondering, Allison. Now, you're sure you didn't travel or anything recently? Any ideas on how you could've been exposed to the virus?"

"I-" Allison stammered, "I-, oww.."

"Are you in pain, Allison?"

"Uh-huh," she managed weakly.

"Where, Allison?" Connor asked forcefully, slightly tense.

"My.. head," she mumbled, "and….chest."

Rhodes checked her chart and was furious to find no order of morphine at all during her stay.

"Dr. Charles, call the CDC officer in here," Rhodes said, anger painting his command.

Dr. Muller entered himself and said, "Ah, Dr. Rhodes. Thought you would take the day off."

"Why hasn't Allison been put on a morphine drip yet? She's probably half delusional from the pain," he said in dangerous, low voice.

"Ms. Grace is in a dangerous situation and we don't want any pain medication interfering with the antibiotics we're trying to save her life with," Dr. Muller explained, tensions rising.

"I am the trauma fellow who saw her through when she first came in, my medical opinion is the one you all should be following," Rhodes spat.

Before things got any uglier, Dr. Charles cut in, "Before we ruffle anymore feathers, why don't we take a step back, huh? All of our goals is to save the young Ms. Grace over here, so let's calm down and get back to work. Dr. Rhodes, will you accompany me outside, please?"

Rhodes gave a nasty glare at Dr. Muller on the way out and followed Dr. Charles out of the isolation rooms.

"Connor, let's just slow it down in there, okay?" Dr. Charles began, "I know were all feeling anxious and a little extra snappy but he isn't head of the CDC for nothing. Hear each other out."

Rhodes didn't respond, just kept walking until Halstead, Maggie, and April, in fresh scrubs, came into sight by the conference room. Too angry to socialize, he kept walking to the locker rooms, leaving Dr. Charles to chat with their friends.

"What let the cat out of the bag?" Halstead asked, staring after Rhodes.

"Testosterone," Dr. Charles replied, sighing.

"How's Allison?" Maggie asked.

"Not good, Rhodes got a little information out of her. When he puts his mind to it, the guy actually has a soft spot."

Halstead scoffed.

"She still doesn't know how she might have caught it? April asked, desperately.

"Nothing yet-" Dr. Charles paused when he saw Rhodes walking fast down a hallway adjacent to them, heading for the isolation rooms.

"I'll be right back.." Dr. Charles said, Maggie and April following his eyes.

"Oh no," Maggie sighed.

"Look, Natalie's out of her ultrasound by now, I'll catch up with you all later," Halstead said, walking to the elevator, "keep me posted!"

None answered as they tried to hurry after Rhodes' fast pace, who was already in the room with Doctor Muller.

When they entered, they heard Rhodes' stern voice saying, "Look, this drug has been tested and proved to work! Cefotaxime is used to treat meningitis cases around the world and I'm just wondering why Allison isn't hooked up to an IV yet!"

"Dr. Rhodes," Dr. Muller tried to keep his voice calm, but was failing, "I am a certified CDC member and have seen meningitis cases before! They don't always end well, but the ones that do send me a fruit cake every year in thanks!"

"How many?" Rhodes asked, eyes flaming.

"How many what?"

"How many meningitis cases have you cured?"

"3."

"Out of?"

"10 that I've seen in my career."

"So you're telling me she has no shot of living in you care," Rhodes stated, harshly, "I hope you enjoy the fruitcake."

Rhodes turned away from Dr. Muller and talked to the nurse attending to Allison, "Start her on Cefotaxime, keep me posted on her stats every hour and raise her morphine dosage. Keep the antibiotics flowing."

"Dr. Rhodes, I am calling your supervisor and explaining to them how you are interfering with a Center for Disease Control Case!" Muller finally erupted, "I will have your license taken away!"

"Tell them what? That I actually tried to save a patient? Good luck," he retorted, writing in her chart.

Muller was turning a dangerous shade of red and Maggie was worried for Connor's safety at the moment.

"Rhodes! Out here, now!" she ordered.

He pridefully walked past Muller, glaring, and stepped outside, following April, Maggie, and Dr. Charles.

"Remind me never to be locked in a room with you," Dr. Charles remarked.

"He was killing her and just sitting there enjoying the show. She's young and strong, she can overcome this with the right treatment," Connor tried to defend his claim.

"And honey, I believe you," Maggie agreed, "but you can't get all up in the man's business for doing his job!"

"I will…try," Rhodes hesitantly confessed, "to listen to whatever logic Muller's thinking, doesn't mean I'll stand by and watch her die."

Dr. Charles chuckled while Rhodes excused himself, walking towards the elevators.

…..

Connor was on the roof, the Chicago wind helped clear his head and calm him down. The nurse obeyed and gave Allison's stats every hour, her fever decreasing but stats still lower than he'd like. Her pain improved a little, but that had to be from the increase in morphine.

He read through her file like a book, trying to catch some indication of a method of treatment they could use. The drug was working, but not well enough yet.

He flipped through a few textbooks he brought up with him, searching for a cure in the lines. He was rereading a paragraph about treatments for the fifth time when his pager went haywire, glancing at it, he sprinted down the stairs to the isolation chambers.

…

"What happened?" Rhodes demanded as he walked in.

The nurse he spoke with before answered frantically, "She's having some kind of a late allergic reaction to the drug, her airway's closing!"

"Where's the CDC?!" he yelled.

Allison was seizing in her bed, choking as she shook uncontrollably. Her blue eyes rolled to the back of her head and her blond hair lay in tangles all around her. The only members of the CDC were in the next room, testing blood cultures, and ignorant of the situation going on in the soundproof room.

"Hey!" Rhodes shouted, waving his arms, trying to get their attention.

With no response, Rhodes took a deep breath and said, "Screw it", running towards the security door and entering the room Allison was dying in, unprotected.

"Dr. Rhodes!" the nurse yelled, hysterical.

She pressed a button that sounded an alarm, but Connor was too wrapped up in saving Allison's life that he didn't notice. Her airway was almost completely closed and he was unable to intubate. Cursing, he grabbed a scalpel and cut two lines into the rugged part of Allison's esophagus, slipping in the tube through there. Rhodes managed to secure the airway, attaching a bag valve mask to the needle and let the air flow. He added saline to her IV in order to wash out the drug she reacted to from her system and checked her stats, momentarily forgetting he was exposed to a contagious disease. Her heart monitor suddenly sounded alarmingly, her heartbeat erratic. Rhodes grabbed the paddles and charged them, shocking her pale chest and checked for a pulse. After a few tries, he was able to restore a normal heart rhythm and finally looked up. It wasn't a pretty sight.

The booth outside was soundproof, but Dr. Muller was inside screaming and shouting at Mrs. Goodwin, who was trying to calm him down. CDC members were getting sanitized and secure in hazmat suits, preparing to enter but Rhodes knew it was too late. He was with her long enough to have been exposed to the disease this late in its development. Dr. Charles, Maggie, and April entered quickly after, staring in awe and horror at their colleague trapped behind the wall, unprotected. Sarah Reese even walked in, eyes widening and looking confusingly at Dr. Charles and Maggie whose hands were covering her mouth in terror. The door opened and the CDC members entered the isolation room, an extra suit in their hands.

"You must wear this, Dr. Rhodes," one of them said, "you've been exposed to the virus in the last stage of its development and must take precaution as quickly as possible. We will move you to a new isolation chamber."

Rhodes denied the protective gear, talking to the people outside, "Look Sharon, I couldn't let her just die in here, it was my choice to put her on the drug. But, frankly, Dr. Muller, while your staff was busy testing sputum samples in the next room, I got to her and saved her. You need a certified and trained doctor with her at all times and I'm already exposed, so what's there to lose."

"What's there to lose?!" Muller's face still red, "Your life! That's what!"

"Dr. Rhodes, I will not have any of this nonsense," Sharon said authoritatively, "you need to be moved to an isolation chamber and start treatment since we still have a chance to fight the virus. Now."

"So you're giving up on her," Rhodes said aggressively, not moving, "Allison will die without me here, and I sure as hell can't work in a hazmat suit."

Dr. Charles silently spoke to Sharon, her expression furious and horrified.

Mrs. Goodwin spoke to Dr. Muller, but Rhodes couldn't hear anything since the microphone wasn't on. All he saw was the head CDC member's face go bright red and begin shouting and throwing papers. Everyone cleared the way to the exit as he left in a flurry, hands waving.

Mrs. Goodwin shook her head and picked the mic up, saying, "Dr. Rhodes, you have authorization to stay with Ms. Allison Grace for the time being, but your report will reflect badly on your impotence and impulsive, putting your life in the balance. Medication will be administered every hour and for god's sake, put the damn suit on."

...


	4. Virus Takes its Toll

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Chicago Med or any of the characters. Enjoy and reviews are appreciated, inspire me to keep going!**

She left without another word. The CDC officers in the room with Connor helped him into the suit as he resentfully slipped it on. As they were about the secure the gigantic headpiece, he sharply declined and took a face mask instead.

Dr. Charles, Sarah, Maggie, and April were still in the booth outside, their faces grave, they seemed to be more grim than Rhodes.

"Dr. Reese," Connor spoke while checking Allison's rashes, "what can you tell us about meningitis?"

"Um," she stuttered, "Dr. Rhodes, I don't really think this is the right time-"

"This is a teaching hospital," he said while checking her pupil movement, "and as you're senior doctor, I am teaching a rising resident about a rare disease."

She hesitated, " It's an inflammation of brain and spinal cord membranes, typically caused by an infection."

"Good," he continued, "and what is the main courses of treatment we should take?"

"Various antibiotics, given orally or through a continuous intravenous infusion," she said quietly.

He finally looked up after his examination, "Ceftriaxone, a common drug to meningitis, but hasn't been showing results with the patient. I need all of you to pull up everything we've got on treatments and report back to me."

Sarah obeyed and left the chamber, happy for something to do.

"Are you insane, Rhodes?!" Maggie finally exploded, "This is a suicide mission! Do you know what you've done? You put yourself at risk for something that may not even work! You call yourself a doctor?!"

She stormed out of the room, April giving a last apologetic glance at Rhodes and following her out.

"Correction," Dr. Charles said, "I wouldn't want to be locked in a room with her."

Rhodes smiled, happy one person wasn't mad at him.

He sighed, "Alright, let me hear it."

"Excuse me?"

"You're the shrink, give it to me straight. I know it was stupid, but she was dying. There weren't many options."

"On the contrary, Dr. Rhodes," the psychiatrist began, "I think you're incredibly noble and brave for doing something like this. Many people would've let her go, but that's what makes you a good doctor. You're resilient and strong."

Rhodes actually smiled, it had felt like a while since he did.

"Didn't say it wasn't stupid, just noble," Dr. Charles teased.

Connor did laugh at that one.

"Just a little viral Meningitis," Dr. Charles joked, settling down, "nothing Molly's can't fix."

Rhodes settled down in the chair beside Allison's bed, the only sound in the isolation room was the beeping of various machines.

….

Halstead stormed into the isolation chamber, nerves on edge.

"What the hell happened?" Halstead said abruptly.

"Doctor of the year in there risked his own life and is now has meningitis in his system" Maggie informed Will, sarcasm coloring her tone, "Someone please present Dr. Rhodes his Harper-Avery, everybody."

Rhodes just gave her the side eye while he adjusted Allison's meds in her IV.

"Look at me real good honey," Maggie said to Rhodes, "it's the only face you'll be seeing for awhile."

Although he knew Maggie was furious at him, Connor knew it was her increasing worry that made her lash out. He could sense all his friends concern, even Will's.

"I was trying to save Allison's life-"

"Yeah, well cut the crap, Rhodes!" Halstead spoke in the mic, "This was a stupid and wrong move to make."

"Now that we've got our greetings out of the way," Connor sighed, "why don't we try and work to find a cure that will help the patient?"

"Honey, you're a patient now too," Maggie sounded, "It's been an hour."

Connor just groaned, annoyed that they were getting off task for his sake but walked over to the glass door. There was a small, drawer like pocket that Maggie safely put a bag fluids and needle in, closing her side of the air tight door so Rhodes could open his.

They stared at each other while Connor rolled up his sleeve, finally gazing away from their locked eyes to insert the needle and start the flow of meds into his body. He had been in there a total of two hours and was just starting to feel some very minor symptoms.

His surroundings got a little fuzzy just for a second every so often, needing to blink a few times to restore his vision and he began to start feeling very hot and sweaty, yet he kept telling himself it was the hazmat suit.

The meds had safely registered and Rhodes slid the IV needle out of his forearm, Will giving him a famous glare and Connor retaliating with one of his own famous ones.

"Dr….Dr. Rhodes?" a weak voice sounded behind him.

Connor instantly turned around and went to her bedside, "Hey, yes, Allison, how are you feeling? Your fever is still running pretty high."

"What happened?" she groaned.

This time Will sounded over the speaker, "You had an allergic reaction to the medication, were researching now for a different one that doesn't contain any of the drugs you're allergic to."

"Wh-Who's that?"

"My name is Dr. Halstead, a colleague of Dr. Rhodes."

"Why is Dr. Rhodes in here? Shouldn't he have all that weird stuff on?"

"Stupid mistake on my part, but you were having a seizure and your airway was closing so I came in and stabilized you. There was no time for protective gear," Rhodes explained.

"But…aren't you sick now too?" she asked with big blue eyes.

"Yes..while coming in to help you, I did expose myself to the virus but I have already started treatment and have been authorized to stay in the room with you in case of another emergency."

She didn't say anything in return, her eyes full of guilt that he risked his life for a lost cause. The medication was taking its toll as she faded into unconsciousness once more.

A door aggressively banged shut in the sound booth outside, a furious Ethan Choi barging in, his eyes finding Rhodes', and shouting, "What did you do?!"

"Question of the year," Maggie mumbled.

"You idiot!" Choi continued, "You know how dangerous this is? Not to forget obnoxious and stupid!"

"Yeah, well, seems like everyone has got something good to say about me today," Rhodes remarked.

"This completely out of line, Rhodes! Strolling into an isolation chamber unprotected? Quarantine wasn't enough?" Choi blew up at Connor.

Rhodes knew he deserved it and didn't say anything, but tried so hard not to say something.

"What were you planning on doing, huh?" Choi continued his rant, "you strolled in there and then what? Get her heart going until you're too sick to finish the job?"

To Connor's relief, Sarah Reese stepped hesitantly into the room and spoke into the mic, "Uh, Dr Rhodes? I got the information you wanted."

"Good. Let me hear it," said Connor as he reassessed Allison.

Reese listed a few common drugs used to treat the disease, along with oxygen therapy and plenty of fluids, "..hopefully the disease should clear up on its own if it's a mild case," Reese finished.

"Tell me, Ms. Reese," Rhodes asked, done with his assessment, "is this a mild case of viral meningitis?"

"No, sir," she said quietly, "I mean no sir-or doctor-"

"Thank you Reese, if you could let the nurse know," he dismissed her.

She left with a nod and walked out of the isolation room. Choirs eyes still burned with fury, but his mouth was a thin line, too angry to speak.

Rhodes sighed. _This was going to be a long night_ , he thought.

…

Halstead walked up to the glass next to Natalie, both staring at the two infected persons behind the clear wall.

"How's he doing?" Halstead asked gravely.

"He's not showing it, but the last hour has gotten worse," Natalie responded quietly, Rhodes having been locked in the room for 10 hours now.

Rhodes was sitting on the floor, back to the wall, and eyes scrunched in discomfort. The symptoms were beginning to start and, tough as Rhodes was, had a few cracks on the surface.

"Rhodes," Halstead said through the loud speaker, thinking that if he aroused his friend the pain wouldn't be as bad.

Rhodes opened his eyes instantly and tried to quickly get to his feet, flinching slightly at the pain in his head and chest.

"Whoa, whoa, slow down Rhodes," Halstead said, "Take it slow, alright?"

"I'm fine," he responded.

"No Connor, you're not," Natalie responded, "This is serious and you better take it seriously too. Do what Will says and take it easy."

"Noted," Connor responded, "Any news on Allison's tests?"

"Her EKG shows slow heart function," Natalie informed, her eyes growing a little worried when she saw Connor make a pained expression, "But looks like her temperature went down from the antibiotics."

"Good, keep me posted," he struggled to say, dark shadows beginning to form under his eyes.

"Rhodes," Natalie started, "Maybe you should sit down for a few minutes, take a little break. I can get some morphine up here-"

"No need, Natalie," he cut her off, "It's nothing I can't handle."

Halstead aggressively turned the mic off, Rhodes not being able to hear him but sure as hell know what he was thinking.

Natalie picked the mic back up, saying, "Rhodes-"

Suddenly, Allison's monitor started blaring, alarming everyone in the room. Rhodes got up as fast as his body let him, ignoring the screams of pain in his head and abdomen.

"Her BP's bottoming out!" Connor yelled.

Allison was drenched in sweat and a painful expression was apparent on her face, blood pressure steadily dropping.

"Rhodes she's tachi-cardic!" Halstead screamed through the mic, tempted to run into the room.

Rhodes grabbed the paddles by Allison's bed, breathing heavily. The virus was catching up with him, but that was the last of his worries. His one focus was to save this patient's life. Charging the paddles, Connor shocked Allison twice on the chest, not giving up anytime soon.

Will began rushing to the door, noticing the pallor of Rhodes' skin and the beads of sweat on his forehead.

"Will, no!" Natalie screamed, and erupted from her chest and caught his arm before he opened the door.

"Natalie she's crashing in there and Connor isn't in the best of shape to save her!" he cried frantically, worried about the two patients behind the door, "We've got to help him before he crashes too!"

Rhodes was inside, breathing heavily, but the determination in his eyes showed he wasn't about to let the patient die in his hands.

"Come on, Allison!" he screamed at the girl in front of him, "I ran into the isolation room to save you once and now that I'm in here you want to slip away?! Not this time!"

The heart monitor behind Rhodes made a long beep, an indication that regular heart rhythm was restoring.

Natalie and Will both let out big sighs and Manning hugged Halstead, happy the patient was going to keep fighting.

"He's right," Will said, a smile on his face, "Like Rhodes said, she's young and healthy. She can pull through this- Rhodes!"

Rhodes inside, paddles still in his hands, sank to the floor and rested his head on the cold tile floor, eyes closed. His breathing was extremely heavy, almost gasping, and the painful expression on his face indicated saving someone's life wasn't an activity Meningitis patients liked to handle.

"Rhodes!" Natalie yelled again, racing to the mic so her friend could hear her, "Connor!"

Halstead was already putting a hazmat suit on, not caring about the consequences.

Rhodes lifted a weary arm, as if saying he was still with them.

"Just c-catching my b-breath," he huffed.

Finally, hazmat suited men rushed through the isolation room, seeing Rhodes on the floor and rushed into the room that held the patients, pushing Halstead aside.

Maggie and Sharon also ran in, walking straight to Natalie.

"What happened?" Sharon asked, worriedly.

"Allison started crashing," she explained, her nerves still on edge, "he got a regular rhythm back, it just took its toll on him."

Maggie looked into the room with horror, seeing the multiple suited CDC officers surrounding a motionless Rhodes on the floor, eyes still closed.

Muller at last entered, walking over to the door to speak with the officers, Halstead's furious eyes following him, but he took no notice.

After a few privately exchanged words with the officer who stepped out of the room, Muller walked up to Sharon.

"Dr. Goodwin," he said in a level voice, "Dr. Connor Rhodes' illness is beginning to progress. It's in the CDC's and hospital's best interest if her were to be removed into another isolation room and monitored. He is physically unable to look after Allison Grace any further, the virus is beginning to take effect."

…..


	5. Disease Progresses

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Chicago Med or any of the characters. Hope you like this chapter, but get ready for the next one :)) Little more Dr. Rhodes coming up in Ch. 6...**

"What do you mean its progressed?!" Halstead's voice rose, not caring about who around him heard.

Natalie stared at him gravely, "So has Allison's condition, I'm not sure if she's going to make it through the night."

"This is ridiculous," Halstead could barely contain his overflowing anger, "Where is he?"

"He's in isolation 2," she frowned, her voice quiet.

Halstead was his own storm of fury and he stomped towards the elevators.

"Dr. Halstead!" his name was called from afar.

Will turned around, eyes knit in anger, and saw Dr. Charles quickly walking towards him and entering the elevator.

"I heard about Dr. Rhodes, I was on my way to see him," he stated.

Halstead didn't say anything, too furious to speak; Dr. Charles could tell from his body language this wasn't the time to talk.

The elevator doors dinged open and Will made a beeline for the doors.

Natalie told him that immediately after he had collapsed, they rushed Rhodes into an isolation chamber, his status determined as critical. The antibiotics they were delivering every hour wasn't enough to fight off the disease. His temperature had climbed to 101.4 and the fever was keeping him in and out of consciousness.

As Will turned the corner, the doors into the isolation chambers was blocked by two CDC officers.

"Excuse me," Halstead said curtly, attempting to enter.

"I'm sorry," one of the guards said, staying put in front of the door, "Only authorized personnel allowed in."

"I think I'm pretty authorized," Halstead's temper reaching new heights, trying to get through the doors one more time.

"Authorized personnel only, sir," the officer said, a little more hostile.

Dr. Charles, thankfully, turned the corner and saw the commotion occurring, quickly intervening.

"And, what seems to be the problem here?" he asked gently, trying to calm the situation down.

"Authorized personnel are only permitted to enter," the CDC officer and Halstead standing inches apart, tensions rising.

"I completely understand, and I actually have authorization right here," Dr Charles pointed toward a badge clipped on his lab coat pocket.

The CDC officer didn't respond for a few seconds, Will and him having a stare down, but finally broke away and checked Dr. Charles' badge.

He nodded to the second guard who opened the door. As Dr. Charles and Halstead were entering, the officer stood in front of Halstead, saying, "Only he has permission."

Dr. Charles immediately cut in, seeing Halstead getting ready with a nasty retort, "Actually, he's my resident," Dr. Charles lied, "I'm on my way to talk to the patient and I'm his teacher. We've never had a meningitis case before, perfect time to learn."

"Why isn't he wearing a lab coat?" the officer asked, suspiciously.

"It's. Hot." Will said in the most curt and hostile tone Dr. Charles had ever heard.

The officer narrowed his eyes, not believing the story. Thankfully, Sharon entered the hallway, making her way towards the officers.

"Stand down," she told the officers authoritatively, "They're with me."

The second guard opened the doors once again and all entered the isolation wing, each putting on a hazmat suit.

….

Entering Connor's room, Halstead wasn't expecting to be shocked. There he lay, the tough Dr. Rhodes who spent his residency in Guadalajara, still on the bed in a mint green hospital gown.

Immediately, Halstead knew something was not right.

Connor's breathing was shallow and ragged and his forehead was drenched in sweat.

"Something's not right here," Halstead rushed to Rhodes' monitors, checking his stats.

"What's wrong, Dr. Halstead?" Sharon asked with a tinge of worry in her tone, her and Dr. Charles not catching the signs since they weren't in his department.

"His temperature is through the roof," Halstead stated, starting to sweat. The chart read 103.6, already reaching dangerous territory, "Page Choi and Manning! Now!"

….

Choi and Natalie sprinted through the doors, racing to isolation 2 and hazmat suits on. When they entered, Halstead updated the two, "Temp 103.7 and climbing. Breathing inadequate. Heart rate slow."

"No one noticed this?!" Choi asked, angrily.

Sharon had gone to look for Dr. Muller, giving him a piece of her mind that one of her best doctors was left unmonitored.

Dr. Charles stood in the back of the room watching the scene, unfortunately he couldn't be of much use since this wasn't his specialty but he offered assistance whenever he could.

"His kidneys are shutting down," Halstead announced loudly, completely focused.

"Heart rate 110," Natalie added to the suspense, all of them hard at work.

'We've got to do something before he has a heart attack!" Choi yelled, worried about his friend.

Rhodes' skin was ghostly white and his breathing was getting faster by the minute. His symptoms progressed much faster than Allison Grace's, the painful expression on his face indicating so.

The heart monitor went haywire, and his BP just seemed to keep rising.

"Choi! Get the paddles charged, now!" Halstead screamed.

Choi did as he was instructed, every moment counting if they were to keep their friend alive. As he was handing the paddles to Halstead, the erratic heart monitor silenced to a dreadful _beeeeeeeeeeeep._

"Clear!" Will yelled.

The paddles hit Rhodes' chest and the electrical current shocked his heart. Natalie's hands were worriedly over her mouth, waiting for the heart beat to return.

After a few dreadfully long seconds, the monitor slowly started back again, Rhodes' heart rhythm returning.

All of his friends only could stand there, Will still with the paddles in his hands, and they all breathed heavily.

"Natalie," Will said slowly, "Start him on Bumetanide and fluids, we have to stop the kidney failure before it gets worse."

No one moved, everyone too shocked to do anything.

Finally Choi said, "Breathing still erratic, if this continues…"

"Intubate, I know," Halstead finished.

They all looked down at Rhodes, his chest rising and falling at a rapid pace. Dr. Charles, who left during the commotion to find a nurse, reentered with Sharon and Dr. Muller.

"What the hell happened?" Sharon asked, concerned.

"He went into d-fib," Halstead explained, "We brought him back, but things aren't looking good."

"His kidneys are shutting down," Choi looked pointedly at Dr. Muller, "Maybe if someone were monitoring him then we wouldn't have to shock his heart."

Dr. Muller spoke in a calm but threatening voice, "All of my officers are monitoring Allison Grace and trying to find a way to cure the disease before it spreads and puts anyone else at risk."

"So Allison Grace is more important than the doctor who saved her life?" Choi said angrily.

"That's enough," Sharon cut in before Dr. Muller had a chance to say anything else, "But Dr. Muller, Dr. Choi has a point. Dr. Rhodes wouldn't be in this situation if he had round the clock supervision."

"I can't spare anymore of my men," Dr. Muller said in a curt voice.

"I'll stay," Halstead finally voiced.

They all looked at him and silently agreed.

"Very well. Dr. Halstead, the hospital and all of it's staff and resources are at your desire, plus the CDC." Sharon glared at Dr. Muller.

….


	6. Rhodes' POV

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Chicago Med or any of the characters. I had to delete that last chapter, published all weird so I'm reposting it. Enjoy and please review!**

All Connor remembered before everything went fuzzy and did a 180 was him continuously shocking Allison Grace's pale chest, praying that her erratic heart rhythm would slow down. Before that, an intense pain in his abdomen and head was causing Rhodes to lose focus and become extremely exhausted. When Allison's heart monitor erupted, it was all Rhodes could do not to vomit when he jumped up from the ground.

There were loud voices sounding in the background, but Rhodes knew he was going and going quick. He jumped for the paddles and brought them down on Allison's chest, _you are not dying today_ , is all he could think.

When the monitor fell into somewhat of a rhythm, Rhodes spotted several CDC men rushing into the booth outside. He stood there panting, the world like a dream, and began to feel his knees buckle and legs give out. Sinking to the floor, he lie with his back on the tile ground and eyes closing. He was sweating and breathing hard but was shivering and felt like he had taken an ice bath, pain radiating throughout his body.

He heard the faraway voices of a few hazmat suited men calling his name and speaking to him, catching only a few glimpses of conversation. There was a jumble of "Temp is up to 102" and "he's delirious, the disease is spreading" from the yellow suited men.

A gurney was brought in and moment of weightlessness overcame as he was lifted up and put on the stretcher, his mind succumbing to the black wave washing over him.

….

Rhodes woke up feeling like crap. His life was crap, his family was crap, his luck was crap. His blue eyes barely open, Rhodes noticed he was in a hospital gown and being wheeled through corridors and automatic doors. He just hoped whoever put the gown on sure as hell was a hot nurse.

After a moment of getting a feel for his surroundings, Rhodes felt the side effects of meningitis start creeping their way back. The unimaginable migraine, the pressure pushing down on his chest, the discomfort in his limbs and muscles making every small movement noticeable. His exhaustion was another story, his threatening to close at any second. As Rhodes fought to stay awake, he mumbled a few words, delirious from his fever.

"Wh-where mm..I?"

The pain in his skull magnified and his face was pinched in pain.

 _Quarantine_ _was much better than this_ , he thought.

His chest felt like cracking under the built up pressure there and Rhodes' light headedness kept getting worse by the minute. The whole room was turning, as if suffering a 9.0 earthquake.

Unable to withstand it anymore, Rhodes let his eyelids start to close and his mind drift to the blackness once more.

….

His dreams were plagued with images of his mother, narcissistic father, and his sister, Claire. He dreamed they were back home and eating at the big dinner table full of 12 different kinds of food. Yet, the dream always ended in the same way. Rhodes would walk out the front door of his childhood home and find his mother's body on the ground outside on the porch, limbs at odd angles and surrounded in a growing pool of blood. Dead.

When he somewhat came back to reality, Rhodes knew something wasn't right. The pressure in his chest had swelled to a balloon, his lungs feeling helpless and unable to get air. His head was a different story. Each second a new wave of pain flooded his mind and hit every inch of his skull. The worst was his feeling of being on air. His mind felt like it was tied to a balloon and floating.

 _Great. Infection._ He put two and two together.

He could feel the heat radiating off his skin but his shivers had gotten worse and he felt he was dunked into an ice bath. His dazed blue eyes barely able to focus, Connor confusingly looked around him. He was in a hospital bed, blankets mangled from his nightmares, and the sheets were drenched in sweat. Rhodes saw he was in a closed off room with safety precaution signs posted in all directions. Isolation chamber.

"Nurse.." he said feebly, the pain in his head amplifying, "Nurse..someone," he yelled a little louder.

Rhodes had a sense he wasn't going to be coming back around to consciousness anytime soon and this was his last chance to gain anyone's attention.

"Nurse!" he tried shouting again, but his door was closed. Rhodes tried to desperately grope for the call button but his mind was already fading, and fading fast.

Once more, he weakly called, "Nurse.." and his hand hung over the bed frame, the call button inches away.

….

 _This time, Rhodes was in the ED. Maggie had just paged him and the paramedics rushed in with a gurney covered in blood._

 _"_ _Attempted suicide!" shouted one of the paramedics, filling the doctors in on the details._

 _Some nurses helped Rhodes into a gown, gloves, and glasses and he went to work._

A shock went through Rhodes his body jolting.

 _As he turned and looked down at the patient, he gasped in horror._

Once more, Rhodes' body felt waves of electricity run through him.

 _The woman lying on the table was young, with electric blue eyes staring blankly ahead. Her hair lay like a fan around her and she was strikingly beautiful._

 _"_ _Dr. Rhodes?" a nurse next to him asked._

 _He didn't answer, just stared blankly down at the lady on the table._

"Come on!" A stern voice yelled in the background, electricity racing through him.

 _Words played at Rhodes's lips. Words he couldn't form. Again a nurse called his name._

"BP dropping!" His chest jolted upward once more.

 _"_ _M-mom?" Rhodes whispered, the woman lying in front of him, eyes wide, was his mother. He stood there speechless, unable to move._

 _The locked eyes blinked once and a sigh escaped her lips, Rhodes' like blue eyes closing._

 _"_ _Mom!" he yelled._

His mind went clear as the electricity brought him back from the nightmare he was stuck in. Familiar voices sounded around him, relief evident in their tones.

"His temp's still high but his BP is back at a safe level," a voice said, reminding Rhodes much of Halstead.

They were back in reality, the heart monitor beep filling the room and low voices spoke.

"We'll keep monitoring him, Halstead volunteered to stay," stated a Choi like voice.

Halstead _volunteered_ to stay with him? He finally understood the "there's a first time for everything" saying.

His chest felt like it had been through the wringer and his skin stung. The exhaustion pulled at him once more, unable to control the unconsciousness that swept him away.

….


	7. Complications

**I do not own Chicago Med or any of the characters. Please review!**

Maggie's hands were still covering her mouth as Dr. Choi and Halstead set the paddles of the defibrillator away. Rhodes' heart went tachy-cardic again, the two ED doctors needing to shock Connor just as Maggie was in the room visiting.

"We'll keep monitoring him, Halstead volunteered to stay," stated Choi.

They moved around to re-evaluate Rhodes, his condition only worsening by the hour. His usual piercing blue eyes were dazed and barely open, awakening from his unconsciousness when his heart started giving out.

"Hey, he's waking up," Choi said in an alert tone, getting Will's attention.

"Rhodes," Will sternly addressed the pale patient, "Rhodes, can you hear me?"

Will saw Rhodes' eyes scale him, but no familiarity was evident in his unfocused eyes. The virus and medication were taking their toll, unable to even register where he was.

Rhodes made an incoherent noise as he fell into unconsciousness again, drifting in and out for almost two days now.

Will and Choi straightened back up and gave each other a silent look. If things got any worse, they would need to take more drastic measures.

Maggie was leaning on the back wall furthest from Rhodes' bed, as if not being able to bear the idea Connor was the one lying before her.

"Maggie, if you don't want to-" Will started.

"No," she responded firmly, taking a few small steps towards Rhodes' bed, "I'll monitor him now, give you all hourly reports and little time to rest."

After a moment of silence, Will softly responded, "Okay."

Choi and Will exited, leaving Maggie with the unconscious Dr. Rhodes.

…

Rhodes woke up with a jolt, unfamiliar with where he was and why he was in… a hospital gown?

Maggie jumped to her feet the minute she saw any sort of movement come from Rhodes' direction, shocked when she found him wide-eyed and trying to get out of the covers.

"Hey! Hey, Rhodes!" Maggie tried to calm the struggling Rhodes down, "It's me! It's Maggie."

He looked at her, a pause before saying in a hoarse voice, "Maggie?"

"In the flesh, sweet cakes," she responded, loosening her grip and coaxing him to lean back instead of sitting stick straight,

"W-what..?" so many questions ran through his mind.

Maggie noticed how awful he looked. His eyes were bloodshot, the blue of his irises standing out in a sickly-sweet kind of way. His face was as white as a vampire's and his voice was rough from not talking for a bit. He was shaky and a little jumpy, but most likely due to the fact that Rhodes was one of the toughest guys in the hospital and didn't approve of the fact he was in a hospital bed. The guy had done his residency in Guatemala. Hell, he grew up with Cornelius Rhodes as a father.

"Sweetie, you've taken a nice long nap these past two days!" she smiled, happy to see he was awake.

But Rhodes wasn't doing too well, as she could see, and his whole body was weak. He needed more rest, paging Will, Choi, and Goodwin.

"Two days?" he said slowly, as if his mind couldn't register it.

"Yup," Maggie responded, "Hey and guess what? Your heart went crazy and we shocked you a few times too, Will seemed happy to eletrocute you anyways."

Deep down, she knew Will and Rhodes, although they couldn't stand each other most of the times, were brothers at the hospital.

Connor coughed once or twice just as Will, Ethan, Sharon, and Dr. Charles entered the room.

"Rhodes," Halstead smiled, happy to see his friend awake, even if he looked like a zombie, "still with us pal?"

Rhodes cleared his throat and said, "How's Allison?" just as Will swooped in to evaluate him.

Will shook his head in silence. Classic Rhodes, feeling like he was untouchable.

"She's not well, Rhodes," is all Sharon would say, Allison Grace deep in another isolation chamber, dying.

Rhodes winced, his organs feeling as though they were on fire.

"Let's talk about you now," Sharon said, opening upon his chart, "Fever at 102.8, high BP, oh- kidneys shut down along the line there- and multiple de-fib episodes. You're on heavy antibiotics and medication for the meningitis and infection in your lungs"

"Peachy," he said with a low huff, head back on the pillow and exhaustion pulling him down.

"Don't forget the hallucinations," Will added, trying to lighten the mood, "You thought I was Tina Turner for a little while there."

"Yeah, and I was Bruce Lee," Maggie added.

Rhodes could barely smile back, coughing once before sleep pulled him back again.

….

When Connor woke up next his lungs were burning out of his chest. He couldn't stop the incessant coughing that racked through him and he felt as if he was choking up his organs.

Will ran into the room, nurses trailing after him, "Page Choi!"

Rhodes' eyes were getting watery and he could barely see, his somewhat peaceful sleep long forgotten.

Choi ran into the room as Halstead was trying to check Rhodes' airway, "What the hell happened?!" he yelled.

Rhodes was the calm, cool, composed surgeon everyone looked up to. That was out the window now. He was panicking as he couldn't control his heavy coughs, feeling as though his throat was bleeding. His breaths were coming in rapid gasps and he knew something bad was about to happen. And it did.

Rhodes spotted the basin sitting on top of the stand next to his bed, stretching past Halstead and yanked it towards his mouth. In an instance, he heaved into the basin, blood staining the vomit.

"Get me an intubation kit!" Halstead practically screamed.

A nurse took over holding the basin as he continued to heave, blood spilling with it. The retching quickly diminished to dry heaves as he had barely eaten in the last two days, blood the only continuously flowing.

His bed started to lean back and he knew what was coming. He felt weak and unfeeling, numb after the vomiting. He was delirious, unable to make out the instructions Will was saying to him, Halstead's eyes wild. Choi stood a few feet away, pumping some drugs into his IV. Red was everywhere, on his clothes and hands. His eyes felt unbelievably heavy as he couldn't keep them from opening. Any sign of Connor Rhodes was gone, replaced by a practically unresponsive patient. He was out in seconds.

…..

Will's mind went from serious to panic in a matter of seconds. One minute he's reading Connor's chart, trying to find a new course of treatment, the next he's coughing, then vomiting blood.

It seemed like the blood kept coming, filling the basin as Rhodes was uncontrollably coughing it up. He didn't even remember ordering the nurses what to do, his only thought was, _Please don't die. Please don't die._

When Choi shouted, "Drugs are in!" Will knew it was time for what they had been avoiding throughout treatment.

Rhodes would have to be manually stabilized, by a ventilator and drugs. He no longer could risk the chance of trying to fight the disease off by himself. As the nurse handed Halstead the tube and Rhodes' bed was leaned back, Halstead knew he didn't have much time.

"Connor, you know I have to do this, alright?," he told Rhodes, although he seemed to be saying it not feel as guilty about intubating his friend, "We're going to put you in a medically induced coma and I'm going to slip in an intubation tube to help you breath."

Rhodes gave no sign of acknowledgment, his blue eyes wild and lazy, eyelids closing. When they shut, Will said, "Here we go," and tried to locate a clear pathway for the tube. He slipped it in and said, "I'm in."

The nurse attached a bag valve mask and said, "Stats improving, oxygen 97."

"Temp's 105," Choi whispered to Will, who came to stand next to him, hands rubbing his tired eyes.

"White blood cell count low," Will said, looking exhausted, "skin clammy and pale, lets do an infection work up."

Choi solemnly nodded as he stared at Rhodes, Will with his back to Connor, and saw how ghostly white and pitiful Rhodes looked. Not the one they were used to.

"Page Goodwin," Will said as he exited.

….

"Infection workup showed a stomach infection, the meningitis causing his immune system to weaken," Will said pacing through the doctor's lounge.

Dr. Charles, Natalie, Maggie, April, Ethan, and Reese were all seated, looking grave.

"We need a new course of treatment," Ethan reiterated, "this one's obviously not working."

"I can go do a little more research on it," Maggie suggested, "See what I come up with, Reese you hit the library and let me know about anything you find."

Reese nodded and hurried out of the room.

"I'll help," said April as Maggie was getting up to leave and they both headed out the door.

"His temps 105.1," Manning said, worried, "We've got to get that down or we're wasting our time with the research."

Dr. Charles jumped in, "Well, the infection could be a contributing factor to the high temp, right? I'm just suggesting maybe we address that first and hold off with the new treatment."

"But the meningitis is what's causing the infections to happen," Will turned on Dr. Charles.

He only calmly replied, "All I'm saying is that the drugs were working, right? He didn't get any better or worse so we should keep him on that until we clear up the infection."

"I agree with Dr. Charles," Manning declared, "He's going to need heavy antibiotics to treat it and he's already been through so much. We don't want it to progress any further."

Will hesitated and then nodded, "Okay, we keep him on the current meningitis medication and clear up the infection, clear?"

Before anyone could answer, Sharon grimly walked in, closing the door behind her. Her face was sad and she didn't have the authoritative aura she usually did.

"Sharon, what's wrong?" said Natalie, worriedly.

"I just got the news from the CDC," she replied, depressed, "Allison Grace is dead."

….


	8. Last Hope

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Chicago Med or any of the characters. Sorry for the long gap, my computer broke and still is in the shop, resorted to typing on my phone. Starting to wind the story down, hope you enjoy and please review! (That season finale Chicago Med episode killed me)**

Rhodes woke up in a flurry, eyes flashing with images of Allison Grace, his friends, and ending with Halstead yelling at him before everything went black. Then he began to panic. He couldn't breathe. Well he could, but it wasn't him. Something was stretching down his throat, his lungs working with a mind of their own, and it definitely did not feel right.

As soon as Halstead heard the screaming of Rhodes' heart monitor and the commotion coming from his room, he ran from the nurses station in the direction of the noise. Upon arriving, he saw a wide eyed Rhodes, struggling with the intubation tube lodged in his throat and trying to yank it out.

"Rhodes!" Halstead shouted, trying to divert his friend's attention from the thing that was helping him breathe. Connor wasn't supposed to be awake yet, not for the next couple of hours for sure. His condition was not improving either, Rhodes' eyes bloodshot and skin pale, looking like he had lost a few pounds too.

"Rhodes listen to me!" Will attempted once more, Manning running into the room, "It's an intubation tube, Connor! It's helping you breathe!"

Rhodes somehow registered the words, barely being able to calm himself enough to listen to what else Will had to say. He was dimly aware of Natalie in the room, a worried expression on her face, and her inform Will, "He isn't supposed to be up for another few hours."

"You don't think I know that?" he snapped at her sharply, immediately regretting doing so. Halstead was fired up from watching his friend and colleague dying in the bed in front of him and not being able to do anything. He had a doctorate's degree for god's sake.

Manning showed no anger, knowing he only lashed out in the spur of the moment and walked up to Rhodes' bed. "Hey Connor, I know the tube isn't the most comfortable thing but your airway was collapsing. The respiratory specialist's going to come by in a few hours and see if we can take it out, okay?" she said in a motherly tone, "until then, we want you to know we're doing everything we can to fix you up."

Connor tried to show composure, not used to others helping him since he always seemed alright, but Will and Natalie both knew he was struggling. The meds so far had no effect and his condition continued to deteriorate, the virus and infections taking their toll.

"Look, we got everyone on the job looking for a cure and so far we're doing pretty good," Will encouraged, "so hang in there a little longer, alright?" Trust Halstead to put it in perspective.

His eyes began to shut but he didn't want to go. He wasn't tired, actually the opposite, but his body protested. He hadn't noticed Manning slip a sedative in his IV so he could rest, succumbing to blackness once more.

..

Reese hated libraries. She had sat in the Gaffney Medical Center's Library and Archives for 6 hours now, scanning infectious disease related books cover to cover looking for a cure. Her eyes hurt and she was sure as hell frustrated. But she thought once more about who she was reading these books for and how little time they had left. News about Allison Grace's death spread throughout the hospital like small pox, all except Rhodes, and if they didn't work fast- Rhodes would be next.

She let out a both sigh, blowing away some of the curls in her face, and continued to read. She sat on the floor of the library for almost an hour and a half longer, eyes beginning to close, when she suddenly perked up. Sarah brought the 23rd medical journal she was reading closer to her face and scanned the pages multiple times to be sure. Reese looked up and gasped, throwing the book on top of the stack, and ran out the door.

...

Maggie sat at the nurses station in the ED, her 8th hour on shift, and sighed. Natalie had informed her about a half hour before Connor had woken up, but no change in his condition. They decided to continue to treat the infections in his lungs and stomach, which was barely making progress, until they found a new course of treatment. Paramedics dragging a gurney through the ED doors broke her thoughts, when they looked at her expectantly, she only responded, blandly, "Treatment 1."

She looked down at her remote to mark that the treatment was being occupied and glanced up to see Dr. Choi walked by, "Dr. Choi! Patient in treatment 1."

He gave her a weak smile, Rhodes obviously on his mind as well, and ducked into Treatment 1. As Maggie filled out a report, Sarah Reese sped up to the desk, eyes wide and anxious. Maggie only glowered up, not in the best of moods, and said, "What's up with you?"

"I think I found it," Reese whispered.

Maggie started to become interested, "Found what?"

Dr. Charles, looking at a patient's chart while walking through the ER, saw the expressions on Maggie and Ms. Reese's faces and curiously walked up.

"Everything okay here?" he asked innocently, adjusting his glasses.

"I think I found it," Sarah repeated, turning to face Dr. Charles, "I think I found a way to save Rhodes."

...

When Halstead finally got the split second to run to the restroom and grab a cup of water, his pager goes haywire. He looked down and the message from Maggie read: URGENT. Abandoning his half full cup of water, he ran out the door and to the elevators.

Natalie, Choi, Maggie, Goodwin, Charles, and Sarah were already all seated in the lounge as Halstead entered, they all were looking expectant.

"What's wrong?" he immediately demanded as he walked into the room, expecting bad news about Rhodes, "what's happened?"

"It seems here," Dr. Charles responded, a slight smug smile on his face, "our own Ms. Reese just saved Rhodes' life."

Sarah looked to the floor, not wanting to be the center of attention, and held a thick medical journal to her chest. The expressions on the room ranged from pride to joy to hope, relieved smiles all around.

"Well what are we all waiting for?" Halstead said, sitting down and the hints of a relieved laugh in his tone, "Let's get to it."

"Well," Reese finally began, "While researching, I found this crazy article about this woman a decade before who had viral meningitis. Just like Rhodes' case, nothing was working so the doctor tried this drug called Foscavir as a last resort. In less than a week, the patient was discharged and back with her kids and at work in less than two."

Dr. Charles' smug smile grew even bigger, wanting Reese to relish in the moment a little.

"I've never heard of that drug before," Natalie chimed in.

"That's because we don't have it here at Gaffney," Sharon answered, "We get very few meningitis cases in Chicago, let alone just this one hospital in all of Chicago."

"Well, where can we get the drug?" Choi asked.

"I'll make a few calls, talk to the CDC and the board," Sharon continued, "this may be our last chance."

The room oddly became silent.

Suddenly, the door burst open, April panting as she delivered the worst news.

"Rhodes' coding!"


	9. Flat Lined

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Chicago Med or any of the characters. Alright, I know it's a short chapter, just getting all of y'all prepped for the next one haha :) I'll be posting the last chapter soon after this one so stay tuned and please review!**

...

Halstead practically flew out of his chair, speeding after April towards the elevators, everyone else in tow. Once on the correct floor, April and Halstead burst through the isolation sector's doors and raced into Rhodes' room. Inside, monitors were blaring, nurses were panicking, and Dr. Muller shouting at anyone in sight.

"April! Get the paddles, now!" Will was almost screaming. Once the defibrillator paddles were in his hand, he wrestled his way to Connor's bedside and shouted, "Charge to 300! Clear!"

"It''s no use, Dr. Halstead!" Dr. Muller angrily shouted, "He's been down for 4 minutes already."

Rhodes' body convulsed on the bed, out like a light, with tubes and wires scattered across his body and sheets. There was no response from the heart monitors as they continued to blare.

"Clear!," he yelled once more, not listening to Muller as the rest of the gang running into the room to the witness the horrific sight.

There was no movement on the bed, no sound in the room, only the heart monitor slowly becoming a flat line.

Maggie was trying to stop herself from shedding a few tears, Reese was white; all eyes stared at Will, who abandoned the paddles and rigorously started compressions. Muller expressionless by the door.

"One of eppy, April!" he shouted, eyes wild.

She looked down, a tear streaking down her face, and fiddled with her hands.

"Why is nobody doing anything?!" Halstead became angry, "Someone! We need to restart his heart!"

He looked around the room, still performing compressions, but no one would look him in the eye. All there thoughts were the same. Rhodes was probably not going to come back from this, any type of treatment was too far out to make a difference.

"Will," Natalie started, her voice extremely soft, "he's suffered enough," putting a hand on his shoulder.

"What do you mean?!" he lashed out, ripping away from her grasp, "Is no one going to help me?!"

Not one person met his gaze.

"Fine!" he shouted, ceasing compressions and rushing to the crash cart, grabbing a tube. He plunged the syringe into Rhodes' IV and resumed trying to restart Connor's heart.

"Frankly, Dr. Halstead," Dr. Muller started, voice eerily calm, "It seems as though your relationship with the patient has clouded your judgement, and has made you the wrong candidate to oversee this case. Therefore, Mrs. Goodwin, in everyone's best interest, I humbly expect you to take the proper course of action in removing Dr. Halstead from the case."

The room was dead silent. The limp body on the bed adding to the sorrow and misfortune of the scenario.

Dr. Muller said, albeit unsympathetically, "Time of death: 14:22."


	10. Can they save Connor Rhodes?

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Chicago Med or any of the characters. Here it is! Last chapter, and thanks to all those who have stuck till the end. It's a long chapter (making up for that super short one a few days ago) and hope you all enjoyed. Please review and feel free to bounce some ideas off me for a future story, a supernatural maybe? Enjoy!**

On the bed, Connor Rhodes had tubes sticking in and out of every orifice, limp as a corpse, and unrecognizable under the mountain of wires and machine cords he was covered in. The bags under his eyes were as black as the night sky, and the pallor of his skin only seemed to emphasize it. His body convulsed rhythmically as Will brought down his pressed wrists on Rhodes' chest every second.

 _No, no, no,_ Halstead thought, shutting out the rest of the world, _Not today you pain in the ass, you're not getting off so easy._

No one stepped in to help; Choi and Dr. Charles with their heads down, Natalie and Sharon sympathetically looking on, Maggie shedding a few tears. Muller standing in the back, unreadable. Slowly, the flat line was the only sound resonating in the room. All eyes reflected hopelessness, Will's frantic ones beginning to do the same, when from the corner of the room, Sarah stepped forward and walked determinedly to the bed.

She grabbed a bag valve mask and hooked it up to Rhodes' intubation, sheer will in her eyes. This got Will going again, finding new strength within himself, confidence returning. He brought his hands down harder on Rhodes' chest, hearing cracks and breaks as Connor's ribs broke under the pressure, but was the better alternative than losing his life.

"One more round of eppy, Reese!" he instructed, the light in his eyes shining, continuing compressions.

Reese nodded in response and plunged the medicine into the IV, the tag team alternating between 30 compressions and 2 breaths.

The rest of the doctors and nurses in the room finally, at last, came to their senses, quickly putting themselves to work. They were all ashamed that they had given up on their friend like that, coming out of their trance like a stallion of horses ready to beat this disease. Choi stepped in to relieve Will, sweaty and tired from the compressions, and continued to pound on Rhodes' chest. Maggie and April started plunging syringe after syringe of medication in Connor's IV, Sharon and Dr. Muller in a big argument. Will bellowed instructions throughout the room, Natalie and Ethan alternating compressions and Dr. Charles grabbing nurses from outside.

"Natalie," Will finally said, determined, "paddles."

She nervously grabbed the defibrillator and charged them to 300, handing the buzzing paddles to Will.

"Clear!" he yelled.

Upon impact, the electric current whizzed through Rhodes, unresponsive on the bed. All eyes looked at the heart monitor as the flat line transformed into zig zag ones, hope in everyone's faces as they had succeeded in resurrecting their friend.

…

Erratic beats filled the room as Connor's unsteady heart beat once more, plenty of sighs of relief sounding throughout the room.

Sarah had a look of pride and pleasure in her eyes, Dr. Charles smiling at her proudly, and Natalie and Will hugged in joy.

Dr. Muller and Mrs. Goodwin had taken their argument outside, Sharon finally giving the talk he needed to get off his high horse. The group couldn't hear what they were saying, but their were definitely many unpleasant hand gestures involved.

Will turned to everyone, all eyes on the patient in bed, and said, "We're not out of the woods yet, we need to find that drug. Fast."

Choi spoke up, "I'll try calling the other hospitals in Chicago, see if anybody's got anything."

"No need, Dr. Choi," Mrs. Goodwin walked back into the room, a smug smile on her face, "The CDC has _willing_ ly decided to cooperate once more and will be handling the delivery and administration of the drug in no time."

The room went silent for a moment, everyone's gaze on the barely breathing, lifeless form of Connor Rhodes.

"In the meantime, let's everyone get back to work, we'll keep an around the clock watch on Rhodes until the drug gets here. Come on everyone, I'm paying you to be doctors and treat patients, not stand around and be the pity party," Sharon said with an uplifting smile and walked out.

….

The hours waiting for the drug to be flown from New Mexico to Illinois were unbearable, the rest of the team had to spend the hours either treating patients only half focused or loiter in the break room. Choi accidentally ordered an endoscopy for person who had trouble hearing out of their left ear. Meanwhile, in Isolation 3, Connor slowly gripped onto life, but they all knew he wasn't going to make it throughout the night without a treatment of some kind.

The whole hospital seemed on edge, the meningitis scare ruffling everyone's feathers. Will impatiently sat on the break room couch, coffee cup #3 in his hand, when Natalie walked in, hair falling out in strands. She let out a deep sigh, also frustrated from the endless waiting, and finally noticed Will to her right.

"Oh!" she jumped, "Will, you scared me."

She walked over to him, Halstead watching her as she plopped right next to him on the couch.

"How're you holding up?" he asked, taking a sip of his black coffee.

"I can't do this anymore," she spoke, "to have everything riding on how fast a helicopter can travel over the midwest."

"Last time I checked they were halfway over Kansas," Will chuckled as Natalie groaned.

"I just wish," she started, "there was something we could do to help him."

They were silent for a moment.

"I've never met anyone as stubborn and arrogant as Rhodes," Will said, trying to lift Natalie's spirits, secretly his own as well, "I don't think we're going to get rid of him easy."

She smiled and put her head on his shoulders when Reese burst through the door, out of breath.

"There you are!" the med student huffed, "I've been looking everywhere. Anyways, helicopter's just arrived, they're landing on the roof right now."

….

Ethan tried to shield his eyes from the dust and dirt blowing in his face as the helicopter blades sliced through the air. The anticipation of those on the roof was easily readable, finally glad they could do something to save their dying friend downstairs. Everyone wore burgundy Gaffney hospital parkas in the evening breeze, getting ready to dive on the drug once the wheels hit the floor.

Preparations were being made downstairs as they waited for the landing to finish, Rhodes' IV being administered with the correct fluids and medicines. All the emergency equipment was nearby, just in case the worst scenario became reality. The wheels of the helicopter hitting the helipad brought Choi back to his senses as Halstead ran up to greet the pilot, handing him the ice chest carrying the drug.

Everyone moved towards the elevators simultaneously, knowing now was the time to cure Connor Rhodes.

…

The isolation floor was abandoned in the late night, everyone but Will, Ethan, Natalie, Dr. Charles, and Maggie stood in the room, all of them quiet. Will held the syringe with the correct drug dosage in his hands, but was hesitant to deliver its contents to the IV tube.

 _What if this whole thing doesn't work? We already lost Allison, there's no cure for the disease so far._

Halstead shook his head to clear his thoughts, all eyes looking at him in waiting.

"Here it goes," he whispered to himself as he plunged the syringe into the IV, praying to every God of every religion he could think of.

At first no change, the heart monitor continuing its sluggish pace, the room as quiet as the dead of night. Then a spike in the EKG sent everyone else's heart into arrest. So far so good.

They waited in anticipation for some sign or assurance that the medicine had worked.

"Come along, everyone," Dr. Charles said in his psychiatry soft voice, "We can't do anything right now except help clear the flooding ED downstairs. The minute something happens with Rhodes, trust me, we'll be the first to know."

….

Sarah was beyond the point of exhausted. It was her turn to watch Rhodes for the night, and, of course, her being the med student got the graveyard shift. It was 3:47 am and her eyelids were slowly closing. She hadn't gotten a wink of sleep in at least 37 hours and she had been on watch duty for two hours now, everyone either at home or in the on call room, snoring away. For hours now, Rhodes had been unconscious and unaware of anything going on around him, but the drug seemed to be working so far, his stats slowly improving by the hour. He was still as pale as a sheet and the tube down his neck didn't help his pitiful sight in anyway. He had been in the same position for hours now, the doctors unsure of when he was going to wake up.

The rhythmic whirs and sounds of the machines were like a lullaby to Reese as her eyes slowly shut and her head began to droop. Her head was falling out of her upright wrist, when suddenly, interrupting her dozing, all the machines blared into action. The commotion woke Reese up in an instance, looking like a deer in headlights, and she saw Rhodes, awake on the bed, staring straight at her with frantic blue eyes.

…

Connor woke up to see Reese staring at him, eyes bulging out of her head and mouth open. He was freaked out of his mind, confused about where he was or what had happened. Last time, he just remembered Will keeping the stupid tube down his throat as it was now. But Will wasn't here. And Rhodes was sure as hell not going to keep the damn thing jabbed in his throat any longer. Grabbing the tube, he began yanking it out, Reese shell shocked and staring at him as if in a trance.

Maggie, snoring on the nurses station, woke to the commotion coming from Rhodes' room and sprinted over to see Connor pulling the intubation tube from his mouth.

"Reese!'" she yelled, as she ran over to Rhodes' bed, "What the hell are you doing?! Get help!"

Sarah stood for a moment longer, speechless, than ran out of the room, paging Halstead with as many emergency alerts as she could.

….

Will couldn't sleep downstairs in the on call room, even though he knew he should be since he didn't remember the last time he had slept, but drearily looked at the hospital ceiling in the bed he was lying on. His pager suddenly sounded like a tornado and he saw an infinite amount of emergency signals from Reese as humanly possible. He ran out of the room.

….

Rearing the corner to Rhodes' room, Will rushed in to find Maggie, Mrs. Goodwin, and a conscious Connor on the bed. His blue eyes were rimmed with red from exhaustion, his skin whiter than ever, and the bags under his eyes were easily identifiable. He had his head on the pillow in exhaustion, the respiratory specialist running up to remove him from the ventilator earlier, and he was taking long, deep breaths. Other than all that, he looked..okay.

"Well, well, well," Halstead said, smiling, "if it isn't the lucky bastard."

"What? Sad I stuck around?" Rhodes responded in a raspy voice, throat sore from the intubation and the lack of speech for a few days.

"Not going to lie, a little disappointed," Will smirked, "How are you feeling?"

"Like a million bucks," he said quietly.

Choi and Natalie rushed in, not believing Rhodes had finally woken up till they saw it in person.

"You are one son of a bitch," Choi smiled wide, "You died about 4 times you know that?"

"What?" Rhodes joked back, "Sick of me or something?"

"Sick of saving your life, that's what," Natalie said, relieved and smiling as well.

"Well looks like you guys aren't gonna get rid of me too easy," he coughed slightly.

Reese finally entered the room, head down in embarrassment, along with a jolly Dr. Charles.

"Dr. Rhodes," Dr. Charles said in a calm, happy voice, "a pleasant surprise to see you up."

"It's a miracle, that's for sure," Maggie finally spoke up, "Don't you _ever_ go pulling something like this again, ya hear?"

"Agreed," Connor shifted in bed, "So tell me, how long was I out?"

"Two, three days," Sharon said, "I'll be taking this out of your paycheck, you know," Mrs. Goodwin smiled.

"How did you find a cure?" Rhodes asked.

"That would be by our very own, Ms. Reese," Dr. Charles gestured to Sarah.

"It was nothing," she kept her eyes down sheepishly.

"Nothing. Yeah, for sure," Ethan joked, bumping her with his shoulder.

Dr. Muller awkwardly entered the room, all conversation ceasing as he did.

"Dr. Rhodes," Muller addressed Connor without emotion, "nice to see you..out and about."

Rhodes and Halstead alike shot the head of CDC their infamous death glares.

"I have come to inform you that the medication has taken effect and the virus should be out of your system within a few days. As for your recovery, I would assume a few more days in the ICU until your doctor sees fit."

Mrs. Goodwin gave him a pointed look.

"Dr. Halstead," he continued, "has overseen your care till this point, and, may I add, has done a satisfactory job of doing so. You most likely would not be here with us today if it weren't for his treatment."

All eyes stared in confusion, a few mouths dropped. Halstead himself was appalled.

"Was that," Will asked, flabbergasted, "a compliment?"

"Fear not," Dr. Muller's icy glare rested on Will, "I will be reporting to your supervisor about your lack of conduct these past few days. Good day, and, should anything like this ever occur again, to please notify the Center of Disease Control immediately."

With that, Dr. Muller left the room. Sharon had a satisfactory smile on her face.

Rhodes' eyes drooped even further, worn out from trying to survive. His insides felt like mush and he couldn't feel his lungs. His head slowly began to throb as the after effects of the disease began to settle. Sensing this, Manning said, "Hey guys, why don't we take off for the night. I think everyone here needs at least a few good hours of sleep."

Everyone murmured their agreement.

"Wait," Rhodes called, needing an answer before he was done for the night, "Where's Allison? How's she responding to the drug?"

That was like a blow to the chest. Everyone either had their head down or avoided Rhodes' eyes. Maggie decided to break the news.

"I'm sorry, sweetie," she started, "we we're too late."

Understanding and sorrow filled his eyes as he thought about how young she was, a life waiting for her.

He silently nodded and they all left the room, a heavy sense of loss hung in the air.

….

"You know you shouldn't be officially back till next week," April reprimanded Rhodes with a smile as he signed off on a patient's chart.

It had been 8 days since the CDC cleared out and Rhodes had woken up, making a full recovery in less than a week.

"Well "officially" your hours on Saturday are 5am-9pm, but you don't see me running to Goodwin's office when you stroll in at 6:30," he teased back, jokingly.

She merely slapped him playfully with a clean towel and went back to work.

Rhodes was in his usual blue surgery scrubs as the paramedics came rushing in, yelling, 24 year old female collapsed in a local restaurant, respiratory distress, and unable to find an MOI!"

Maggie popped her head out from the nurses station, "Rhodes! Treatment 3!"

He smirked and thought about the last time someone said a young female had collapsed in a local restaurant with breathing issues. _Too soon_ , he smiled to himself.

He yelled back to Maggie, almost laughing, "Let Halstead take this one!"


End file.
